Padma hopes ‘male-dominated’ food industry to be inclusive

India-born supermodel Padma Lakshmi says the “male-dominated” food industry needs to be more inclusive. “The professional food industry is one of the most maledominated sectors of our society. Probably the only place that’s more male-dominated is the military and so I would like to see that change,” the Top Chef host told Us Weekly. “Most of the food in this world is actually made by women and yet the professional food world is taken over by men, so I would like to see that disparity decrease considerably,” she added The 49-year-old hopes people in the industry, men specifically, take matters into their own hands. “It will only happen with paid maternity leave, better hours, better accountability for sexual harassment, equal pay between men and women and between ethnicities,” she said. The Emmy winner continued: “I would like to see big, white male chefs in our industry make a concerted effort to mentor and speak out for women and minorities — to mentor them and give them the same richness of experience and privilege that white males have had. I think that would go a long way. We don’t even teach African-American food in culinary school.”